Our 35-Ton Marine Travel Lift
Boat Lifting And Launching In Deltaville, VA
Norton Yachts lifts sail and power boats up to 55 feet with a 35-ton marine travel lift, run by our own yard crew at 97 Marina Drive in Deltaville, Virginia. Travel lift service starts at $11.00 per foot of boat length, and the crew that slings the boat also washes the hull, blocks it, and launches it again.
35-ton marine travel lift · Boats up to 55 feet · Thousands of boats lifted in 70+ years · Run by our own yard crew
How It Works
A marine travel lift is a mobile gantry: two tall steel frames on rubber tires, joined across the top, that straddles a narrow slip of water. A lift runs in four moves:
Because a boat travel lift carries the boat in slings, it can set it down level on blocks anywhere in the yard, from a quick wash to months of storage.
Capacity
The 35 tons is the most weight our lift is rated to carry, and it is weight that counts, not length. The lift is sized for sail and power boats up to 55 feet, but two boats of the same length can differ by thousands of pounds, and a heavy 45-footer can ask more of the lift than a light 50-footer.
Width matters too. The lift straddles a slip of fixed width, so a wide-beam boat can run out of room before it runs out of capacity. When you call, have these four numbers ready:
Who Runs It
Our yard crew does. A travel lift operator never works alone: one person drives the lift and runs the hoists, while a ground crew watches the slings, the lines, and the clearance on both sides. Owners don't run the controls or handle the slings.
Before the lift takes any weight, the crew checks where each sling sits against the keel, struts, shafts, rudder, and any through-hull fittings or transducers the straps could crush. Norton's Marine Service Center has lifted thousands of boats in more than 70 years, and every lift starts with that check.
Looking for travel lift operator work instead? Current openings, if there are any, are posted on our careers page.
Travel Lift Service
Boat travel lift service at Norton Yachts comes in two forms, and both start with the same lift:
Everything that happens once the boat is up, from the bottom inspection to repairs, is covered on our boat haul-out services page. A boat that stays out for the winter moves on to our winter storage.
Pricing
Marine travel lift price at Norton Yachts is set per foot of boat length: $11.00 per foot for a Quick Haul & Wash, and $13.00 per foot for Haul, Wash, Block & Launch. For a 40-foot boat, that works out to $440 or $520. Storage and repairs are priced separately.
If you're pricing a lift to buy for your own yard, that is capital equipment sold by the manufacturer and quoted by capacity and configuration. These rates are for using ours.
Before The Lift
The slings go where the boat can carry them, so tell the crew about anything that hangs below or sticks out past the hull:
If the builder marked lift points on the hull, mention that too. The crew will tell you where to be while the boat is in the slings.
Booking
Call (804) 682-3227 with your boat's length, beam, and weight, and the dates you have in mind. The service team confirms the lift can take the boat, then gives you a time. For anything near the 55-foot or 35-ton limits, the call comes first and the date second.
FAQs
A marine travel lift is a mobile gantry on wheels that straddles a slip, lifts a boat out of the water in slings, and carries it across the yard to be blocked or stored.
Norton Yachts runs a 35-ton boat travel lift at its Deltaville boatyard.
Our lift is rated for 35 tons and sized for sail and power boats up to 55 feet. Weight and beam decide what fits as much as length does.
Call with your boat's length, beam, and weight, and the service team will confirm the lift can take it.
Rates are $11.00 per foot for a Quick Haul & Wash and $13.00 per foot for Haul, Wash, Block & Launch. A 40-foot boat comes to $440 or $520.
Storage and repairs are priced separately.
Our own yard crew. One person runs the lift and the hoists while a ground crew watches the slings, lines, and clearance.
Owners don't run the controls or handle the slings.
A travel lift operator drives the lift, runs the hoists, and works with a ground crew to place the slings, take up the boat's weight, and move it to its blocks without stressing the hull or running gear.
Before the lift takes weight, the slings are checked against the keel, struts, shafts, rudder, and any fittings under the hull.
Travel lift service comes in two forms. A Quick Haul & Wash lifts the boat out, washes the hull, and puts it back in the water. Haul, Wash, Block & Launch sets the boat on blocks and stands for the work or storage that follows, then launches it when the work is done.
Length overall, beam, weight with fuel, water, and gear aboard, and draft, plus the keel type on a sailboat.
Also mention anything that hangs below or sticks out past the hull, such as swim platforms, outboard brackets, bowsprits, radar arches, trim tabs, and transducers, and any lift points the builder marked.
Beam can limit a lift before weight does, because the lift straddles a slip of fixed width.
Call with your boat's beam and the service team will confirm whether it fits before you plan a date.
Yes. A Quick Haul & Wash is built for it: the boat is lifted out, the hull is washed so the bottom and running gear can be seen, and the boat goes back in the water.
Norton Yachts runs its lift to haul and launch customers' boats. If you're looking to buy or maintain a lift of your own, that goes through the lift manufacturer or an equipment service company.
Current openings, if there are any, are posted on the Norton Yachts careers page.
Norton's Marine Service Center has lifted thousands of boats in more than 70 years, and Norton Yachts has served the Chesapeake Bay since 1948.
Get In Touch
Call (804) 682-3227, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., or visit the Boat Service Center.
